'\" t
.\"***************************************************************************
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.\" $Id: curs_attr.3x,v 1.136 2025/02/15 19:35:37 tom Exp $
.TH curs_attr 3X 2025-02-15 "ncurses @NCURSES_MAJOR@.@NCURSES_MINOR@" "Library calls"
.ie \n(.g \{\
.ds `` \(lq
.ds '' \(rq
.\}
.el \{\
.ie t .ds `` ``
.el   .ds `` ""
.ie t .ds '' ''
.el   .ds '' ""
.\}
.
.de bP
.ie n  .IP \(bu 4
.el    .IP \(bu 2
..
.\" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
.SH NAME
\fB\%attr_get\fP,
\fB\%wattr_get\fP,
\fB\%attr_set\fP,
\fB\%wattr_set\fP,
\fB\%attr_off\fP,
\fB\%wattr_off\fP,
\fB\%attr_on\fP,
\fB\%wattr_on\fP,
\fB\%attroff\fP,
\fB\%wattroff\fP,
\fB\%attron\fP,
\fB\%wattron\fP,
\fB\%attrset\fP,
\fB\%wattrset\fP,
\fB\%chgat\fP,
\fB\%wchgat\fP,
\fB\%mvchgat\fP,
\fB\%mvwchgat\fP,
\fB\%color_set\fP,
\fB\%wcolor_set\fP,
\fB\%standend\fP,
\fB\%wstandend\fP,
\fB\%standout\fP,
\fB\%wstandout\fP \-
manipulate attributes of character cells in \fIcurses\fR windows
.\" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
.SH SYNOPSIS
.nf
\fB#include <curses.h>
.PP
\fBint attr_get(attr_t *\fIattrs\fP, short *\fIpair\fP, void *\fIopts\fP);
\fBint wattr_get(WINDOW *\fIwin\fP, attr_t *\fIattrs\fP, short *\fIpair\fP,\fR \fPvoid *\fIopts\fP);
\fBint attr_set(attr_t \fIattrs\fP, short \fIpair\fP, void *\fIopts\fP);
\fBint wattr_set(WINDOW *\fIwin\fP, attr_t \fIattrs\fP, short \fIpair\fP, void *\fIopts\fP);
.PP
\fBint attr_off(attr_t \fIattrs\fP, void *\fIopts\fP);
\fBint wattr_off(WINDOW *\fIwin\fP, attr_t \fIattrs\fP, void *\fIopts\fP);
\fBint attr_on(attr_t \fIattrs\fP, void *\fIopts\fP);
\fBint wattr_on(WINDOW *\fIwin\fP, attr_t \fIattrs\fP, void *\fIopts\fP);
.PP
\fBint attroff(int \fIattrs\fP);
\fBint wattroff(WINDOW *\fIwin\fP, int \fIattrs\fP);
\fBint attron(int \fIattrs\fP);
\fBint wattron(WINDOW *\fIwin\fP, int \fIattrs\fP);
\fBint attrset(int \fIattrs\fP);
\fBint wattrset(WINDOW *\fIwin\fP, int \fIattrs\fP);
.PP
\fBint chgat(int \fIn\fP, attr_t \fIattr\fP, short \fIpair\fP,\fR \fPconst void *\fIopts\fP);
\fBint wchgat(WINDOW *\fIwin\fP,
      \fBint \fIn\fB, attr_t \fIattr\fB,\fR \fBshort \fIpair\fB, const void *\fIopts\fB);\fR
\fBint mvchgat(int \fIy\fB, int \fIx\fB,\fR
      \fBint \fIn\fB, attr_t \fIattr\fB, short \fIpair\fB, const void *\fIopts\fB);\fR
\fBint mvwchgat(WINDOW *\fIwin\fB, int \fIy\fB, int \fIx\fB,\fR
      \fBint \fIn\fB, attr_t \fIattr\fB, short \fIpair\fB, const void *\fIopts\fB);\fR
.PP
\fBint color_set(short \fIpair\fB, void* \fIopts\fB);\fR
\fBint wcolor_set(WINDOW *\fIwin\fB, short \fIpair\fB,\fR \fBvoid* \fIopts\fP);\fR
.PP
\fBint standend(void);\fP
\fBint wstandend(WINDOW *\fIwin\fB);\fR
\fBint standout(void);\fP
\fBint wstandout(WINDOW *\fIwin\fB);\fR
.fi
.\" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
.SH DESCRIPTION
These routines manipulate the current attributes of the named window,
which then apply to all characters that are written into
the window with \fBwaddch\fP, \fBwaddstr\fP and \fBwprintw\fP.
Attributes are
a property of the character, and move with the character through any scrolling
and insert/delete line/character operations.
To the extent possible, they are
displayed as appropriate modifications to the graphic rendition of characters
put on the screen.
.PP
These routines do not affect the attributes used
when erasing portions of the window.
See \fBcurs_bkgd\fP(3X) for functions which modify the attributes used for
erasing and clearing.
.\" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
.SS "Window Attributes"
There are two sets of functions:
.bP
functions for manipulating the window attributes and color:
\fBwattr_set\fP and \fBwattr_get\fP.
.bP
functions for manipulating only the window attributes (not color):
\fBwattr_on\fP and \fBwattr_off\fP.
.PP
The \fBwattr_set\fP function sets the current attributes
of the given window to \fIattrs\fP, with color specified by \fIpair\fP.
.PP
Use \fBwattr_get\fP to retrieve attributes for the given window.
.PP
Use \fBattr_on\fP and \fBwattr_on\fP to turn on window attributes, i.e.,
values logically \*(``or\*(''-ed together in \fIattr\fP,
without affecting other attributes.
Use \fBattr_off\fP and \fBwattr_off\fP to turn off window attributes,
again values logically \*(``or\*(''-ed together in \fIattr\fP,
without affecting other attributes.
.\" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
.SS "Legacy Window Attributes"
The X/Open window attribute routines which \fIset\fP or \fIget\fP,
turn \fIon\fP or \fIoff\fP
are extensions of older routines
which assume that color pairs are logically \*(``or\*(''-ed
into the attribute parameter.
These newer routines use similar names, because
X/Open simply added an underscore (\fB_\fP) for the newer names.
.PP
The
.I int
datatype used in the legacy routines is treated as if
it is the same size as
.I \%chtype
(used by \fBaddch\fP(3X)).
It holds the common video attributes (such as bold, reverse),
as well as a few bits for color.
Those bits correspond to the \fBA_COLOR\fP symbol.
The \fBCOLOR_PAIR\fP macro provides a value which can be
logically \*(``or\*(''-ed into the attribute parameter.
For example,
as long as that value fits into the \fBA_COLOR\fP mask,
then these calls produce similar results:
.PP
.RS 4
.EX
attrset(A_BOLD | COLOR_PAIR(\fIpair\fP));
attr_set(A_BOLD, \fIpair\fP, NULL);
.EE
.RE
.PP
However, if the value does not fit, then the \fBCOLOR_PAIR\fP macro
uses only the bits that fit.
For example,
because in
.I \%ncurses
\fBA_COLOR\fP has eight (8) bits,
then \fBCOLOR_PAIR(\fI259\fB)\fR is 4
(i.e., 259 is 4 more than the limit 255).
.PP
The \fBPAIR_NUMBER\fP macro extracts a pair number from an
.I int
(or
.IR \%chtype ")."
For example, the \fIinput\fP and \fIoutput\fP values in these statements
would be the same:
.PP
.RS 4
.EX
int value = A_BOLD | COLOR_PAIR(\fIinput\fP);
int \fIoutput\fP = PAIR_NUMBER(value);
.EE
.RE
.PP
The \fBattrset\fP routine is a legacy feature predating SVr4
.I curses
but kept in X/Open Curses for the same reason that SVr4
.I curses
kept it:
compatibility.
.PP
The remaining \fBattr\fP* functions operate exactly like the corresponding
\fBattr_\fP* functions, except that they take arguments of type
.I int
rather than
.IR \%attr_t "."
.PP
There is no corresponding \fB\%attrget\fP function as such
in X/Open Curses,
although
.I \%ncurses
provides \fB\%getattrs\fP
(see \fB\%curs_legacy\fP(3X)).
.\" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
.SS "Change Character Rendition"
The routine \fBchgat\fP changes the attributes of a given number of characters
starting at the current cursor location of \fBstdscr\fP.
It does not update
the cursor and does not perform wrapping.
A character count of \-1 or greater
than the remaining window width means to change attributes all the way to the
end of the current line.
The \fBwchgat\fP function generalizes this to any window;
the \fBmvwchgat\fP function does a cursor move before acting.
.PP
In these functions,
the color \fIpair\fP argument is a color pair index
(as in the first argument of \fBinit_pair\fP, see \fBcurs_color\fP(3X)).
.\" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
.SS "Change Window Color"
The routine \fBcolor_set\fP sets the current color of the given window to the
foreground/background combination described by the color \fIpair\fP parameter.
.\" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
.SS Standout
The routine \fBstandout\fP is
the same as \fBattron(A_STANDOUT)\fP.
The routine \fBstandend\fP is the same
as \fBattrset(A_NORMAL)\fP or \fBattrset(0)\fP, that is, it turns off all
attributes.
.PP
X/Open Curses does not mark these \*(``restricted\*('', because
.bP
they have well established legacy use, and
.bP
there is no ambiguity about the way the attributes
might be combined with a color pair.
.\" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
.SS "Video Attributes"
The following video attributes,
defined in
.IR \%curses.h ","
can be passed to
.BR \%attron ","
.BR \%attroff ","
.BR \%attrset ","
and
logically \*(``or\*(''-ed with characters passed to \fBaddch\fP(3X).
.PP
.if t .ne 15
.if n .ne 16
.RS
.TS
Lb Lb
Lb Lx.
Name	Description
_
A_NORMAL	Normal display (no highlight)
A_STANDOUT	Best highlighting mode available
A_UNDERLINE	Underlining
A_REVERSE	Reverse video
A_BLINK	Blinking
A_DIM	Half bright
A_BOLD	Extra bright or bold
A_PROTECT	Protected mode
A_INVIS	Invisible or blank mode
A_ALTCHARSET	Alternate character set
A_ITALIC	Italics (non-X/Open extension)
A_ATTRIBUTES	Mask to extract character code
A_CHARTEXT	Mask to extract attributes
A_COLOR	Mask to extract color pair identifier
.TE
.RE
.PP
.BR \%attr_on ","
.BR \%attr_off ","
and
.B \%attr_set
support the foregoing as well as the following additional attributes.
.PP
.if t .ne 7
.if n .ne 8
.RS
.TS
Lb Lb
Lb Lx.
Name	Description
_
WA_HORIZONTAL	Horizontal highlight
WA_LEFT	Left highlight
WA_LOW	Low highlight
WA_RIGHT	Right highlight
WA_TOP	Top highlight
WA_VERTICAL	Vertical highlight
.TE
.RE
.\" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
.SH RETURN VALUE
These functions return
.B OK
on success and
.B ERR
on failure.
.PP
In
.IR \%ncurses ","
they return
.B ERR
if
.I win
is
.IR NULL "."
.PP
.B \%wcolor_set
returns
.B ERR
if
.I pair
is outside the range
.BR 0 .\|. COLOR_PAIRS\-1 .
.PP
.B \%wattr_get
does
.I not
fail if its
.I \%attrs
or
.I \%pair
parameter is
.IR NULL "."
.PP
Functions prefixed with \*(``mv\*('' first perform cursor movement and
fail if the position
.RI ( y ,
.IR x )
is outside the window boundaries.
.\" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
.SH NOTES
.BR \%attr_on ","
.BR \%attr_off ","
.BR \%attr_set ","
.BR \%wattr_set ","
.BR \%chgat ","
.BR \%mvchgat ","
.BR \%mvwchgat ","
.BR \%wchgat ","
and
.B \%color_set
are part of
.IR \%ncurses "'s"
wide-character API,
and are not available in its non-wide configuration.
.PP
.BR \%attron ","
.BR \%wattron ","
.BR \%attroff ","
.BR \%wattroff ","
.BR \%attrset ","
.BR \%wattrset ","
.BR \%standout ","
and
.B \%standend
may be implemented as macros.
.PP
Color pair values may be logically \*(``or\*(''-ed with attributes
if the pair number is less than 256.
The alternate functions such as \fBcolor_set\fP can pass a color pair
value directly.
However,
.I \%ncurses
ABI 4 and 5 simply logically \*(``or\*('' this value
within the alternate functions.
You must use
.I \%ncurses
ABI 6 to support more than 256 color pairs.
.\" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
.SH EXTENSIONS
This implementation provides the \fBA_ITALIC\fP attribute for terminals
which have the \fBenter_italics_mode\fP (\fBsitm\fP)
and \fBexit_italics_mode\fP (\fBritm\fP) capabilities.
Italics are not mentioned in X/Open Curses.
Unlike the other video attributes, \fBA_ITALIC\fP is unrelated
to the \fBset_attributes\fP capabilities.
This implementation makes the assumption that
\fBexit_attribute_mode\fP may also reset italics.
.PP
Each of the functions added by XSI Curses has a parameter \fIopts\fP,
which X/Open Curses still (after more than twenty years) documents
as reserved for future use, saying that it should be
.IR NULL "."
This implementation uses that parameter in ABI 6 for the functions which
have a color pair parameter to support \fIextended color pairs\fP:
.bP
For functions which modify the color, e.g.,
\fBwattr_set\fP and \fBwattr_on\fP,
if \fIopts\fP is set it is treated as a pointer to
.IR int ","
and used to set the color pair instead of the
.I short
.I pair
parameter.
.bP
For functions which retrieve the color, e.g.,
\fBwattr_get\fP,
if \fIopts\fP is set it is treated as a pointer to
.IR int ","
and used to retrieve the color pair as an
.I int
value,
in addition to
retrieving it via the standard pointer to
.I short
parameter.
.bP
For functions which turn attributes off, e.g.,
\fBwattr_off\fP,
the \fIopts\fP parameter is ignored except to check that it is
.IR NULL "."
.\" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
.SH PORTABILITY
These functions are described in X/Open Curses Issue\ 4.
It specifies no error conditions for them.
.PP
The standard defined the dedicated type for highlights,
.IR \%attr_t ","
which was not defined in SVr4
.IR curses "."
The functions taking
.I \%attr_t
arguments were not supported under SVr4.
.PP
SVr4 describes the functions not taking
.I \%attr_t
or
.I pair
arguments as always returning
.BR 1 "." \" Courier roman in source; SVID 4, vol. 3, p. 480
.PP
Very old versions of this library did not force an update of the screen
when changing the attributes.
Use \fBtouchwin\fP to force the screen to match the updated attributes.
.PP
X/Open Curses states that whether the traditional functions
\fBattron\fP/\fBattroff\fP/\fBattrset\fP can manipulate attributes other than
\fBA_BLINK\fP, \fBA_BOLD\fP, \fBA_DIM\fP, \fBA_REVERSE\fP, \fBA_STANDOUT\fP, or
\fBA_UNDERLINE\fP is \*(``unspecified\*(''.
Under this implementation as well as
SVr4
.IR curses ","
these functions correctly manipulate all other highlights
(specifically, \fBA_ALTCHARSET\fP, \fBA_PROTECT\fP, and \fBA_INVIS\fP).
.PP
X/Open Curses added these entry points:
.sp
.RS
\fBattr_get\fP, \fBattr_on\fP,
\fBattr_off\fP, \fBattr_set\fP, \fBwattr_on\fP, \fBwattr_off\fP,
\fBwattr_get\fP, \fBwattr_set\fP
.RE
.PP
The new functions are intended to work with
a new series of highlight macros prefixed with \fBWA_\fP.
The older macros have direct counterparts in the newer set of names:
.PP
.RS
.ne 9
.TS
Lb Lb
Lb Lx.
Name	Description
_
WA_NORMAL	Normal display (no highlight)
WA_STANDOUT	T{
Best highlighting mode of the terminal
T}
WA_UNDERLINE	Underlining
WA_REVERSE	Reverse video
WA_BLINK	Blinking
WA_DIM	Half bright
WA_BOLD	Extra bright or bold
WA_ALTCHARSET	Alternate character set
.TE
.RE
.PP
X/Open Curses does not assign values to these symbols,
nor does it state whether or not they are related to the
similarly-named A_NORMAL, etc.:
.bP
X/Open Curses specifies that each pair of corresponding \fBA_\fP
and \fBWA_\fP-using functions operates on the same current-highlight
information.
.bP
However, in some implementations, those symbols have unrelated values.
.IP
For example, the Solaris \fIxpg4\fP (X/Open)
.I curses
declares
.I \%attr_t
to be an unsigned short integer (16-bits),
while
.I \%chtype
is a unsigned integer (32-bits).
The \fBWA_\fP symbols in this case are different from the \fBA_\fP symbols
because they are used for a smaller datatype which does not
represent \fBA_CHARTEXT\fP or \fBA_COLOR\fP.
.IP
In this implementation (as in many others), the values happen to be
the same because it simplifies copying information between
.I \%chtype
and
.I \%cchar_t
variables.
.bP
Because
.IR \%ncurses 's
.I \%attr_t
can hold a color pair
(in the \fBA_COLOR\fP field),
a call to
\fBwattr_on\fP,
\fBwattr_off\fP, or
\fBwattr_set\fP
may alter the window's color.
If the color pair information in the attribute parameter is zero,
no change is made to the window's color.
.IP
This is consistent with SVr4
.IR curses ";"
X/Open Curses does not specify this.
.PP
The X/Open Curses extended conformance level adds new highlights
\fBA_HORIZONTAL\fP, \fBA_LEFT\fP, \fBA_LOW\fP, \fBA_RIGHT\fP, \fBA_TOP\fP,
\fBA_VERTICAL\fP (and corresponding \fBWA_\fP macros for each).
As of August 2013,
no known terminal provides these highlights
(i.e., via the \fBsgr1\fP capability).
.\" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
.SH HISTORY
4BSD (1980)
used a
.I char
to represent each cell of the terminal screen.
It assumed 7-bit character codes,
employing the eighth bit of a byte to represent a
.I \%standout
attribute
(often implemented as bold and/or reverse video).
It introduced
.IR \%standout ","
.IR \%standend ","
.IR \%wstandout ","
and
.I \%wstandend
functions to manipulate this bit.
Despite their inflexibility,
they carried over into System\ V
.I curses
and ultimately X/Open Curses
due to their pervasive use in legacy applications.
While some 1980s terminals supported a variety of video attributes,
BSD
.I curses
could do nothing with them.
.PP
SVr2 (1984)
provided an improved
.I curses
library,
introducing
.I \%chtype
to create the abstract notion of a
.I curses
character;
this was by default an
.IR "unsigned short" ","
with a provision for compile-time redefinition to other integral types
(a freedom not necessarily available to users of shared libraries,
and in any event a source license was necessary to exercise it).
It added the functions
.IR \%attron ","
.IR \%attroff ","
.IR \%attrset ","
.IR \%wattron ","
.IR \%wattroff ","
and
.IR \%wattrset ","
and defined the
.I A_
macros listed above
(except for
.I \%A_ITALIC
and
.IR \%A_COLOR ")"
for use by applications to manipulate other attributes.
The values of these macros
were not necessarily the same in different systems,
even among those certified as System\ V.
.PP
SVr3.2 (1988)
added the
.I \%A_COLOR
macro along with a color system;
see \fBcurs_color\fP(3X).
.PP
X/Open Curses Issue\ 4 (1995) is largely based on SVr4
.IR curses ","
but recognized that the
.I \%wchar_t
type of ISO C95 was intended to house only a single character code,
not a sequence of codes combining with a base character,
let alone could it reliably offer room for a color pair identifier
and a set of attribute bits with a potential for further growth \(em
thus the standard invented the
.I curses
complex character type
.I \%cchar_t
and a separate type
.I \%attr_t
for storage of attribute bits.
The new types brought along several new functions to manipulate them,
some corresponding to existing
.IR chtype -based
functions
.RI \%( attr_on ,
.IR \%attr_off ","
.IR \%attr_set ","
.IR \%wattr_on ","
.IR \%wattr_off ","
and
.IR \%wattr_set "),"
and some new
.RI \%( chgat
and its variants,
.IR \%color_set ","
and
.IR \%wcolor_set ")."
.PP
Different Unix systems used differently sized bit fields in
.I \%chtype
for the character code and the color pair identifier,
and took into account platforms' different integer sizes
(32- versus 64-bit).
.PP
The following table showing the number of bits for
.I \%A_COLOR
and
.I \%A_CHARTEXT
was gleaned from the
.I curses
header files for various operating systems and architectures.
The inferred architecture and notes
reflect the format and size of the defined constants
as well as clues such as the alternate character set implementation.
A 32-bit library can be used on a 64-bit system,
but not necessarily the converse.
.PP
.TS
Lb  Lb Lb  Cb  S   Lb
Lb2 Lb Lb2 Lb2 Lb2 Lb
L   L  L   L   L   Lx.
\&	\&	\&	Bits	\&
Year	System	Arch	Color	Char	Notes
_
1992	Solaris 5.2	32	6	17	SVr4 \fIcurses\fP
1992	HP-UX 9	32	no	8	SVr2 \fIcurses\fP
1992	AIX 3.2	32	no	23	SVr2 \fIcurses\fP
1994	OSF/1 r3	32	no	23	SVr2 \fIcurses\fP
1995	HP-UX 10.00	32	6	16	SVr3 \fIcurses_colr\fP
1995	HP-UX 10.00	32	6	8	SVr4, X/Open \fIcurses\fP
1995	Solaris 5.4	32/64	7	16	X/Open \fIcurses\fP
1996	AIX 4.2	32	7	16	X/Open \fIcurses\fP
1996	OSF/1 r4	32	6	16	X/Open \fIcurses\fP
1997	HP-UX 11.00	32	6	8	X/Open \fIcurses\fP
2000	UWIN	32/64	7/31	16	uses \fIchtype\fP
.TE
.PP
Notes:
.RS 3
.PP
Regarding HP-UX,
.bP
HP-UX 10.20 (1996) added support for 64-bit PA-RISC processors in 1996.
.bP
HP-UX 10.30 (1997) marked \*(``curses_colr\*('' obsolete.
That version of
.I curses
was dropped with HP-UX 11.30 in 2006.
.PP
Regarding OSF/1 (and Tru64),
.bP
These used 64-bit hardware.
Like
.IR \%ncurses ","
the OSF/1
.I curses
interface is not customized for 32-bit and 64-bit
versions.
.bP
Unlike other systems which evolved from AT&T code,
OSF/1 provided a new implementation for X/Open Curses.
.PP
Regarding Solaris,
.bP
The initial release of Solaris was in 1992.
.bP
Its XPG4
(X/Open Curses-conforming)
.I xcurses
library was developed by Mortice Kern Systems from 1990 to 1995.
Sun's copyright began in 1996.
.bP
Sun updated the X/Open Curses interface
after 64-bit support was introduced in 1997,
but did not modify the SVr4
.I curses
interface.
.PP
Regarding UWIN,
.bP
Development of the
.I curses
library began in 1991, stopped in 2000.
.bP
Color support was added in 1998.
.bP
The library uses only
.I \%chtype
(not
.IR \%cchar_t ")."
.RE
.PP
Once X/Open Curses was adopted in the mid-1990s, the constraint of
a 32-bit interface with many colors and wide-characters for
.I \%chtype
became a moot point.
The
.I \%cchar_t
structure
(whose size and members are not specified in X/Open Curses)
could be extended as needed.
.PP
Other interfaces are rarely used now.
.bP
BSD
.I curses
was improved slightly in 1993/1994 using Keith Bostic's
modification to make the library 8-bit clean for \fInvi\fP(1).
He moved the
.I \%standout
attribute to a structure member.
The resulting 4.4BSD
.I curses
was replaced by
.I \%ncurses
over the next ten years.
.bP
UWIN has been defunct since 2012.
.PP
.I \%ncurses
6.0 (2015)
added the
.I A_ITALIC
macro.
.\" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
.SH SEE ALSO
\fB\%curses\fP(3X),
\fB\%curs_addch\fP(3X),
\fB\%curs_addstr\fP(3X),
\fB\%curs_bkgd\fP(3X),
\fB\%curs_printw\fP(3X),
\fB\%curs_variables\fP(3X)
